Onward is a Disney Pixar animated film and it has a focus on family bonds. Compared to other Pixar films, its setting may not be as interesting or fantastical. It takes place in a world where magic used to exist but as technological advancements were made, magic ended up being a lost art. Ian lost his father when he was young and has no memory of him, while his older brother Barley is really into tabletop games (and annoyingly so). Ian and Barley ends up discovering a spell that is able to bring their father back for one day, and while Ian discovers he has natural aptitude for magic, he only managed to bring the bottom half back. As a result, the pair needs to find the Phoenix Gem to redo the magic spell. Naturally, the goal of the film is to show off the bonding between the brothers. It's not a fantastical adventure since apart from the world being inhabited by fantasy creatures like elves and sprites, everything else is like reality. It works well enough but it is definitely missing the crucial spark that made Pixar's previous movies so touching. The climax has the biggest amount of action in the film and it was exciting in the "villain" that shows up, as well as Ian using the magic that he had improved upon during his journal.
